Ch 9: The Order of the Phoenix

The Order of the Phoenix had been disbanded at the end of the war. Severus had always thought this was a bad idea. Open hostilities had ceased, but as far as he was concerned, the war had not really Dark Lord had been separated from his body, but he was far from dead. For his part, Severus had been fighting the war every day since then. He knew that Dumbledore likewise never really let down his guard.

That night, Severus had sent a message to every member of the Order, in a carefully orchestrated order. He had taken great care about everything from how the message was sent, to the wording of the message. Nonetheless, the message was such that members were sure to arrive the moment they got the message, or as soon as feasible. The messages themselves were eyes-only messages delivered by owl with portkeys. No one would know where the portkey was taking them, not that he worried that the order members were safe. After all, Severus had long since come to terms with the fact that he had to trust these particular wizards and witches with his life and continued freedom.

The first to arrive were Molly and Arthur Weasley, Kingsley Shakelbolt, and Hagrid. They were almost simultaneous, in fact. Shacklebolt gave Severus a curt nod and walked to a small table where Severus had set out tea and pastries. He helped himself to a cup of Darjeeling and a pumpkin pasty and took a seat on the sofa. Arthur gave him a raised eyebrow and then followed suit, sending a quieting look in his wife's direction as he did so. It didn't work.

"Severus! It is good to see you. Are we the first to arrive?" Molly rushed to him, effusive as ever; though he was not sure why she thought her coddling would be welcome. Before he could reply, , the next arrivals popped in.

Remus Lupin looked as ragged as ever. To the untrained eye, it may be unclear whether he was holding Minerva's elbow to steady her in a gentlemanly gesture, or if she was the one holding him up. Severus glared at him warily. They were still days away from the full moon. He should not be in such dire straits. It would appear that his overall health was poor. He was distracted from these ruminations by the arrival of Poppy Pomfrey, however. That marked a large portion of the Hogwarts contingent.

Dumbledore would notice, especially now, since it was the holidays.

As the last members arrived and helped themselves to refreshments, Severus leaned against the parlor wall. Things had to go perfectly. It was tricky. He could already see them getting comfortable among the regular and conjured furniture, some of them inspecting the room as if to try to determine whose house they were in. They would get restless before long. Curiosity and duty had brought them here, and they would be wanting answers.

Kingsley stepped forward and cleared his throat. Since he radiated authority and calm, Severus had decided that he should be the one to begin. He was in fact the only one of the assembled that knew what was going on, other than Severus.

"I appreciate your taking the time out of your busy holiday to attend this meeting," Kingsley began. His deep voice rumbled, getting the attention of the room immediately. "I know that you are all curious as to what the emergency mentioned in the message is that brought us here. I am afraid that it is in fact a dire one."

"Shouldn't we wait for Dumbledore?" Arthur interrupted. Severus had expected this from someone. He was a bit surprised that it had been Arthur to bring it up. "Unless … does the emergency involve Dumbledore?" Arthur furrowed his brow and looked to Minerva in worry. Severus did not need legilimacy to know that Arthur had been thinking that if that was the case that the Hogwarts group would not be looking so calm.

"No, Arthur, not precisely," Kingsley answered calmly. Severus admired the wizard all the more at times like this. None of them would be giving him this much leeway. "Dumbledore will be along."

At this, the rumble of worry that had gathered in the thoughts of those gathered in the room quieted almost instantly. They trusted Kingsley. Severus felt for the delicate position he was in. Manipulation was often necessary, but in this case, they were playing with fire. Everyone in this room trusted everyone else—except for Severus. No one had given him a second glance, in fact, since Molly had greeted him. He was where he always was—in the shadows.

"The emergency concerns Harry Potter."

That got an immediate response. It ranged from Molly's gasp to Minerva's furrowed brow, but Lupin sank into a chair. Severus didn't understand why he had even still been standing, as bad off as he apparently was. Kingsley simply waited until the drama died down.

"What is it, Kingsley? What is wrong?" Molly demanded.

"As you know, since that night, Harry has resided with his muggle relatives—his aunt and uncle," Kingsley began. There were several nods, and even some looks of disgust from Minerva and Remus. "Dumbeldore brought Harry there in order to provide him the protection of a blood relative through ancient magic. He has been observed by a squib, Arabella Figg, from a distance."

"And?" Poppy stepped in when Kingsley stopped.

"It would appear that we were remiss in our duty to maintain protection for Harry," Kingsley continued, "despite the presence of Arabella Figg in the neighborhood, she does not seem to have been a large part of the boy's life."

"Speak plainly man," Arthur demanded. "What happened to Harry?" His wife, who was sitting next to him on a divan under the front window, had her arm on his elbow. She was not stilling his anger, however. She seemed, if anything, just as frustrated.

"To put it bluntly, Harry has been neglected and abused."

There were reactions to this statement from everyone in the room, from Minerva's putting her head back with her eyes closed to Lupin's animalistic snarl. Severus glanced at him, and then back at Kingsley. He had expected nothing less, mostly. Poppy's eyes glistened with unshed tears, and she was the medical professional here. Hagrid was openly crying into a hanky as large as a dish towel.

"We are still determining the extent of the … damage his aunt and uncle did to him. As soon as the situation became apparent, Order members worked to intervene and have the boy placed in the care of a new guardian."

Again, Kingsley was interrupted, by two of them simultaneously. Molly asked, "Who is the guardian?" at the same time as Lupin asked, "How did you become aware of … this?"

Kingsley nodded, his eyes briefly meeting Severus's before he continued. "To answer your question, Remus, we are not exactly sure. We think that Harry might have used some latent form of legilimency or that it was possible that the communication came from beyond the veil."

"Beyond the veil?" Minerva asked?

Both of those answers had everyone looking at Severus for the first time. It was true that they were not sure of the source of Severus's dreams. In either case, the answers pointed to him, so it was his turn to speak.

"I began to receive dreams around Halloween," Severus told them, stepping away from the wall. "At first I did not know that the boy in my dreams was Harry. When I realized it, I went to Albus because I thought Harry had been kidnapped. He was much too thin, dressed in dirty rags, and kept in a dark, small space." Molly placed her hand over her mouth to stifle a sob, but it came out anyway. Lupin popped up, but just began pacing with animalistic vigor. He no longer seemed as pale or weak. "Albus sent me to check, and I confirmed that Harry was still with his relatives. At first, the goal was only to confirm that Harry was bodily safe and remained at Privet Drive."

There were some nods at this pronouncement. Severus was being very careful with this sequence of events. Returning to the story as he told it, he wasn't even happy with all of his actions. He wasn't sure what he could have done differently, but he wished he had plucked Harry from the house on Halloween.

"You think it was Lily?" Lupin demanded, interrupting Severus's thoughts.

"As Shacklebolt told you, I am not sure. All I know is that the information in the dreams was accurate. Harry looked exactly as I had seen him in the dreams. The small space proved to be … a cupboard under the stairs. This was where he was made to sleep, and in fact where he spent much of his time when he was not working for the family."

"Working?"

"Yes, Lupin, working. He was kept as their slave. They starved him, emotionally abused him certainly, and most likely they were physically abusive as well. It is hard to say." Severus was trying not to lose patience. He knew that this would be hard for any of them to hear, let alone Remus Lupin, the last of Harry's parents' friends. He was trying not to see Lupin as a Marauder and instead to remember him as that.

Lupin seemed satisfied with this response however, and he sat down, possibly from exhaustion. It would be more accurate to say he fell onto the couch. Hagrid leaned over and slapped him gently with a meaty paw.

"Where is the boy, now? He is not still there?" Minerva asked, looking from Severus to Shacklebolt.

"No," Kingsley answered her evenly. "He is no longer there. That is in fact the reason for this meeting."

There were nods and gestures of relief at that.

"Where is Dumbledore? Why hasn't he arrived? Who called the meeting?" Arthur asked.

"I did," Severus told her.

That got the response he would have expected, mostly. He was impressed and somewhat surprised to note that it did not get exactly the response he would have thought. Most of them were pensive, rather than hostile, in addition to surprised.

"He does not know?" Minerva's tone held a slight scold, as she might ask a student whose transfiguration had gone not quite as planned.

"He got a message, as well. His was timed so that he will be arriving shortly," Severus informed her.

"You have my full support, Severus," Poppy stated. "Where is the boy?"

"Upstairs."

She nodded.

"He is asleep. He has had a long day, and it would be rather past his bedtime anyway. This house is in a muggle neighborhood. It is one of my oldest safehouses, both in terms of chronological years and how long it has been in my possession. The wards are formidable. The secret keeper is beyond reproach. Nobody knows where this house is. You all arrived by portkey, obviously, but I will be keying the wards to each of you and also the floo. It goes without saying that I trust you all with my life, and with Harry's. Should the security of this place be breached, an eventuality I do not anticipate, you all will be alarmed, unless you do not wish it." He paused here. No one moved. "I thought not. You all are Harry's defense from here on. I also hope that in no small way, you will be part of his life. He will need allies. This is where I am beginning."

"And Albus?" Minerva prodded.

"Do not misunderstand. I am not seeking to shut Albus Dumbledore out. I am certainly not intending to act behind his back. I just needed to make my position entirely clear. I am well-aware that most of you do not trust me."

"And you do not trust Albus?" Arthur asked, an edge of steel on the question.

"I did not say that. As you know, he trusted me when no one else would. True, he needed me. I was a tool, one he could little afford to lose in the war. In that way, I suppose, I am also uniquely qualified to protect Harry." Severus paused, taking a deep breath. "There is one more thing I need to tell you. It may also be the reason that these dreams came to me. When Harry was orphaned, I made a Vow to protect him. I have failed to do so, but no longer. I need you to know that I will do everything in my power to protect Harry, and now to raise him as my own. This is not just because of my feelings for Lily. It is also because of my feelings for Harry. As long as I am living and can do anything about it, no harm will come to that boy."

The room was absolutely still. Then, Arthur rose and walked to Severus, clasping his hands in both his. "Welcome to the Order of the Phoenix, Severus."

Perhaps Harry was already changing him. There would have been a time when Arthur Weasley's ceremonial re-initiation of him into the Order would have irked Severus, but he decided to accept it in the spirit in which it was intended. Arthur and the others were willing to set aside his past and give Severus a second chance, without the suspicion they had routinely met him with before. It was the life of a double agent, never to be trusted by anyone. However, they all knew that for Harry's sake, things would have to change.

"What is your plan, Severus?" Molly asked, earnestly. "Are you returning to Hogwarts?"

He knew why she was asking. They probably thought he was daft, to act against Dumbledore in this way. Maybe he was. Perhaps all of those years spent between the two most powerful living wizards had taken its toll. Still, Harry was worth the risk, and he had not thought of another way.

"Harry will need to go to school. I will be better able to protect him from there. Until then, I will probably continue to teach potions. As Head of Slytherin House, I may be able to protect some of the students and gain us allies, to prepare for the next war. Ultimately, though, that will be up to …"

He paused, as the last recipient of his messages and the last Order member arrived. "… Dumbledore."